As an avid addict to agogics, the science that studies inter relationships and social interaction, I am fascinated by the incredible way social and digital media sweep most of our know standards under the carpet. For ages a carefully constructed framework of rules, do’s and don’ts, etiquette and ancient wisdom has been keeping our relationships in balance. Dates with chaperones, draconian ways of progressing in a relationship… getting to second or third base was really a hassle. Announcing a relationship to your social web required careful consulting and had to adhere to a very specific set of social (and moral) standards. The picking order on who-to-inform-when-of-what was crystal.
Nowadays, a plethora of quick and very revealing technologies permit your social online communities to follow your life in the most revealing and private depths of your being. And yes, your status updates, location beamers, and tagged pictures are carefully being analyzed by Aunt Beth and uncle Freddy.
Trust me, they’ll spot that new gorgeous witty blonde in your life quicker than you can deal with. And when is a relationship official? When you introduce him to your parents? When you take her to that friend’s diner? The first joined breakfast? Or an updated Facebook status that beeps from “single” to “it’s complicated”?
O my, as a social media consultant I can see golden times ahead of me 😉 …
